International Signing

International Signings

Per Ben Badler at BA, the Phils have signed Jose Pujols, who Badler called #20 in International FA market.  “Philadelphia has signed Dominican corner outfielder Jose Pujols for $540,000. Pujols, 16, has tremendous righthanded power and bat speed from his lanky 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame.”

Seeing Badler also reporting Phils signed 16-year old catcher Deivi Grullon.  Commenters below have info on him already, but Badler called him the 15th best Intl. prospect last week.

BA has a full scouting report if you subscribe, but here’s the short article.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/07/phillies-sign-no-20-international-prospect-jose-pujols/

63 thoughts on “International Signing”

  2. 6’4″ and 175 qualifies him for Mr. Slender prizes in our system.

    Glad their emphasis is on hitting plus power.

    Now, where’s Waldo?…er, Tocci?

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    1. Badler was asked the same question on twitter, said he’s on the DL with a back injury. He’s with the GCL team.

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      1. I like Santana and was sad to see him go, but all offensive stats from High A California League must be taken with a bowlful of salt.

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      2. Definitely some very good stats in there, but Ks every 3 at bats. Walks once every 10.3 plate appearances. Good with the bad.

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  5. Spending the trump…lets go for it lads. Scouting report from Jon Mayo, MLB.COM;

    Jose Pujols
    Rank: 16 International
    Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
    Height: 6’3″, Weight: 175
    Position: OF
    DOB: 09/29/1995
    Bats: R, Throws: R
    Athletic, with a strong arm that might eventually land him in right field, the teenage outfielder has also displayed raw power at the plate. However, he remains an enigma because of an inconsistent approach and the fact that he sometimes seems lost when in the batter’s box, even during batting practice. Some think Pujols’ biggest issue is his belief that he has to hit every ball out of the park and the mixed results that come with the all-or-nothing approach. At times, he shows plus-plus power along with natural throwing and running abilities that would make him among the top prospects on the international market, but there is a concern that he might not make enough contact to stay in a lineup on a regular basis. Pujols’ natural abilities make him attractive to scouts, and he could pay dividends once he receives regular instruction in a Major League farm system. Strong performances in Florida and Arizona for the Dominican Prospect League All-Star travel squad during Spring Training have some scouts believing that Pujols is starting to put his game together.

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      1. jmb4028….I like Jon Mayo, and he has access to many MLB scouts since he works in the organization, but personally like to see about 4/5 scouting reports on a signing/draftee to get a more detailed picture.

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  6. No one has said it yet, so I might as well: I was thrilled to see the headline “Phillies acquire Pujols.”

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  7. I could not be more excited about this signing. Just the kind of thing the Phils should have been doing all along. I’m not sure why they waited until now, when there is some sort of cap being put in place on international signings, to do this. Either way, a 16-year-old with plus power, strong arm, and good running ability? SIGN ME UP

    Can someone who knows more (or cares enough to google it) opine as to whether or not this signing counts against the new international signing rules?

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    1. It does, starting this morning the international market opens up and from now on the signing rules are in effect for amateur international signings (Pro pitchers from Japan don’t count and I think Cespedes would not have counted). This leaves the Phillies with about 1.5million that I would like to see them grab another 500k player and then spread the rest around taking flyers on a bunch of different kids.

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      2. Hey Matt, I saw an article on Fangraphs and another on BA saying $2.9m. If that is true, then the Phils should have $2.4m left available to spend, right? Or are there other signings I have missed?

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  8. From Baseball America :”best raw power among the top prospects in Latin America this year”; “plenty of room to fill out but already generates his power with bat speed”; “big question is whether the power will translate”; “big uppercut and has had trouble connecting when the pitch isn’t grooved”. Average speed and projects as a corner OF and some scouts think he is a Hersin Martinez(Seattle prospect) clone, if anybody knows who he is.

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  9. I don’t want to know anything about him. As far as I’m concerned, he’s Albert’s brother or cousin or something and I prefer to stay in that ignorance

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    1. Probably Albert’s brother. Phillies have a long history of signing the wrong brother 🙂

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      1. Maybe this guy will make Albert the wrong brother…….which means we just signed Babe Ruth

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  10. Deivi Grullon has signed with the Phillies. He is a catcher who was ranked higher on the international top 20 than Pujols.

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    1. He was signed for 575,000 and has been compared to Carlos Ruiz. This means the Phils have 1.8 million left to spend.

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    2. Solid. These were the two ‘big’ names the Phils were linked to. Glad they got it done.

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      1. DSLbaseball.com. u can google dsl deivi grullon click on it and it will bring u there as well. I wish i knew how to copy url’s on my phone.

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    4. This is exciting stuff, thanks for posting it! Good to hear that he has a two-strike approach at the plate already.

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  13. MLB.Com, Jon Mayo Report:
    Deivi Grullon
    Rank: 17 International
    Bonao, Dominican Republic
    Height: 6’1″, Weight: 180
    Position: C
    DOB: 02/17/1996
    Bats: R, Throws: R

    A defensive-minded catcher with some power, Grullon is trained by catching guru Luis Coronado, and some believe he could be the next Wilin Rosario (Rockies prospect). Grullon has a solid body, is built like a catcher and has plus arm strength. He has solid blocking skills but needs to improve on his defensive techniques and sometimes makes plays more difficult than they should be because he relies too heavily on his natural abilities.
    The best catching prospect to ever come play in the Dominican Prospect League, Grullon has also built a reputation for his gap-to-gap hitting prowess in games and awe-inspiring batting practice sessions. A member of the Dominican Republic team in the MLB prospect showcase , Grullon was also part of Dominican Prospect League’s All-Star travel squad that played during Spring Training in Arizona and Florida.

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      1. And another has him at a robust leg-thick 195 lbs, which is apparent on the video of him.

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    1. Yeah, just watched his DPL prospect video. Big leg kick on this guy. And my Spanish is lousy, but I think he said “My name is Deivi something something something”. Anyone confirm?

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  16. Interestingly, he is compared to Carlos Ruiz and Carlos Ruiz was not himself a highly touted prospect at an early age. Obviously, Carlos has turned out to be one hell of a catcher, but it is still ironic to me that a once upon a time lower end prospect is now a bench mark for other up and comers. I guess it is a testament to how far Carlos has come.

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      1. nik….pls be more elaborate on your replies…..he never played one inning at 2nd from his GCL days on upwards…400 plus games at catcher and 10 or so at OF/1B. He may have been signed as a 2nd basemen but never played one game there in the stateside minor leagues system

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        1. Yes he was converted early on. Who’s to say this guy won’t be converted? Jayson Werth was signed as a catcher.

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        2. I believe he was a 2B in Panama but the Phillies signed him and immediately converted him to catcher. Pretty sure they intended to do that when they signed him.

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  17. It seems like the Phillies usually wait until August to sign their latin free agents. I wonder if these guys will come directly to GCL this year, since they are already 16 years old and not 15, like Tocci was last July.

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    1. They have to wait till next season by rule if they just turned 16. July 2 is the beginning of the signing period for players eligible next year. Now if they are older they could come right away, but that won’t be the case for the guys signing for $500K.

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      1. I believe the rule is a player can begin playing as a professional in the year they turn 17, so I figure if they were born between July 2, 2011 (when they were not yet 16) and New Years day of 2012 they would be able to begin playing professionally now.

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  19. one of five 16-year-old players the Phillies signed Monday, the first day of the international signing period. The Phillies have traditionally spent among the fewest of any major-league team in the international market, but Agostinelli said in January the front office made a decision to invest more.

    The result was nearly $2 million spent Monday, about a $500,000 increase from a season ago when Baseball America ranked the Phillies 21st in international spending. It’s still not among the top dollar figures in baseball, but allowed Agostinelli to be more active.

    “We spend a lot of money at the big-league level,” Agostinelli said. “Now that our guys are getting up in older age, we have to regroup and get more prospects in the system. This is the way we’re going to do it. We’ve been in on all the Cuban guys. We’re really active right now. We’re trying to make things happen.”

    Pujols was ranked the 20th best international prospect by Baseball America. Agostinelli also signed Deivi Grullon, rated as the 15th best, for $575,000. Grullon is a Dominican catcher with “a plus major-league arm right now,” Agostinelli said.

    “The tools are all there,” he said. “He’s a strong, strong kid. His

    Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/Phillies_active_as_international_signing_market_opens.html#ixzz1zcMqy0Fp
    Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else

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  20. Phillies signed a Venezuelan SS (Willerker Isava) for 200K. In the past, that would be big news. Lost in the background this year.

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    1. Yeah, Willerker, Agostinelli said he could have signed for a million if he was a better hitter, but he got $200,000 anyway cause his glove is that good, or something. Looks like he has the potential to be a future whipping boy for this board.

      Also , the headline and/or article mentions five international signings , but Gelb sees fit to mention only 3 in his article. The signings mentioned seem to add up to around 1.4 million but article says 2 million was spent. So, if you figure neither of the phantom signees got in excess of what the 2 headliners got or else they would have mentioned them, they average out to around $ 300,000 each, which were just sloughed off.

      Thank God they got geniuses who can manage the news in such a way, that the public will only be doled out the news they deem it smart enough to handle.

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        1. They might have it in the premium section, but I’ve only seen rankings for the top 20 prospects and such where I looked.

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        1. Contacted Matt Gelb on the other two that he did not mention in his article above:
          ‘Don’t have names on the other two. One OF and another 3B/C…both signed for much smaller bonuses. The three guys I mentioned are the highest-ceiling prospects. Thanks for reading.’ Matt

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